


Unwavering Loyalty

by WolfGoddess77



Series: Kingdom Hearts Oneshots [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Complete, F/M, Kingdom Hearts Freeform, Light Dom/sub, M/F, Oneshot, Oral, Organization XIII Freeform, Porn With Plot, Reader-Insert, Sex, Smut, Vaginal Fingering, Violence, youfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-06 22:54:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10346418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfGoddess77/pseuds/WolfGoddess77
Summary: After a failed mission, Xemnas orders you to prove yourself, and you obey, in more ways than one. Xemnas/Reader





	

**Author's Note:**

> Jeez, this was SO HARD to write! Xemnas, I love you, man, but you are a PAIN to write intimate scenes for! I didn't think it would be so difficult to write for someone without emotions. At least when it came to that particular kind of thing.
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> I originally planned to write Saix's story next, and then save Xemnas for last, but he had other plans, and this is what came out of it.
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> \---
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> Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor do I own you. No money is made from the writing of this story.

The Grey Area was unusually quiet. It had been a busy few days, and you assumed that most of the others were either currently out on missions, or sleeping away their tiredness in their own rooms. You were of a similar mindset, and upon finding that the common room was empty, you decided to take advantage of it, stretching out on one of the couches. Just as you were beginning to doze off, you heard a Corridor of Darkness appear somewhere close by, followed by footsteps. Unwillingly, you opened your eyes to see the youngest member of the Organization, Roxas, walking towards you.

 

“Saix says we have a mission,” he informed you.

 

You sat up, yawning. “Where _is_ Saix?” you asked curiously. When not on missions, he could usually be found either in the Addled Impasse, or here, gazing at the yellow moon of Kingdom Hearts. It had puzzled you when you had first made your way to this place, to find the room completely empty.

 

“He called me to Where Nothing Gathers just a few minutes ago to give me the mission. But I don’t know if he stayed there.” He crossed his arms over his chest, turning to look out the window. You had to wonder whether he was thinking the same thing you were. Saix was one of the most standoffish members of the Organization, so it was no surprise that he would choose to go elsewhere, rather than coming here to The Grey Area when there was someone already present.

 

“What are we being sent out for?” You pulled yourself to your feet, looking down at the slightly shorter boy. Though you had been the smallest member for a long while, since Roxas had been found, he had taken that title for himself; something you were grateful for. Most of the Organization was filled with men who were much taller than you, so apart from Larxene, whom you could look directly in the eye, Roxas was the closest to your height. You only topped him by a small increment, which would no doubt disappear as he got older.

 

“He said that we have to go to Twilight Town. Apparently, there’s a big Heartless there that he wants me to deal with.” He extended one hand, and in a burst of light, his Keyblade appeared. “Our Leader wants to see just whether I can handle something like this on my own.”

 

You arched one eyebrow curiously. “So why send me, if this is a mission designed to test _you_?” The answer to this question was already present; you were to be backup, should Roxas not be able to defeat it himself. You had seen the boy fight before; he was quite talented, and for something so innocuous-looking, his Keyblade was powerful.

 

He dismissed his weapon, giving you a smile. Ordinarily, he still wasn’t very good with showing emotions – or rather, the remnants of the emotions that he once had, but more and more frequently, you would see glimpses of what he might have been like when he was whole. Those moments made a glow of warmth appear in your chest. There was something special about this boy, and it wasn’t just because he was a Keyblade wielder. He made you feel the way an older sister might feel towards her baby brother.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of things on my own. Reinforcements won’t be needed.”

 

This made you blink in surprise. Where had that confident attitude suddenly come from? You reached out, ruffling his unruly hair. “All right, I’ll hold you to that. I’d better not have to lift a finger, got it?”

 

His smile widened slightly, and he nodded. “Yeah.”

 

You waved a hand, summoning a Corridor that would take you to your destination. Stepping through it, you found yourself on the balcony of what you realized was the clock tower on top of the town’s train station. You had only been here a handful of times, so you weren’t very familiar with the place, but you had seen the tall tower looming over the rest of the buildings. From up here, you had a beautiful view of the perpetual sunset that cloaked the town in reds and golds.

 

Roxas appeared behind you, looking around. “You know, this is my favorite place to hang out after a mission. This town has something called sea salt ice cream that I really like. If you ever get the chance, you should try it sometime. It’s salty, but sweet at the same time.”

 

You glanced back over your shoulder at him, giving a soft hum. “Sea salt ice cream, huh…?” The town where you had lived when you were still whole had a store where you could buy ice cream, but you didn’t think you had ever tried that particular flavor before. It was something to think about, when you had some spare time.

 

Turning back around, you hopped up onto the ledge that ringed the balcony, crossing your arms over your chest as you surveyed the streets below you. You didn’t see any sign of the Heartless the pair of you had been sent here to destroy. “I’m going down to take a look. Maybe having someone on the ground will lure it out.” It was a bit unlikely, though; Heartless were drawn to hearts, and you didn’t have one. They probably wouldn’t even be able to detect you. “Stay up here, and keep an eye out. If you see anything, give a shout.”

 

Without waiting for a response, you stepped off the ledge, and were swallowed up by a Corridor that reappeared in the middle of the large, round pathway in front of the station. You materialized within the black and blue flame-like patterns, and they faded away. Turning in a slow circle, you frowned. You couldn’t sense _anything_. Something wasn’t right. A Heartless of a magnitude large enough to draw the Superior’s attention should have been easy to find, but you didn’t even see any Shadows, the most base form of all the Heartless.

 

Frowning, you held out one hand, summoning your own weapon, Fading Corrosion. Flickering thorn-like tendrils appeared around your arm, and a sinuous black whip materialized, curled into neat loops. You caught it, snapping your wrist sharply and unfurling it to its full length. It was easily twice as long as you were tall, though you had no trouble handling it. All it took was the faintest hint of your will, and the whip would respond, coming to life in your hands and moving the way you wanted. Even though there was no hint of any kind of danger, you felt better with its reassuring weight in your palm. In fact, that was _why_ you had called it; you didn’t trust the tranquility.

 

Neither did Roxas, apparently, as you saw a flash of light out of the corner of your eye, telling you that he had summoned his Keyblade. Just as you were turning to look at him, wondering if he had seen something, you heard the telltale sounds of Heartless appearing. Like Nobodies, they could also teleport at will using portals similar to the ones you utilized, though thankfully, they didn’t use them as strategically as you could.

 

Your brow furrowed as the group of Heartless surrounding you continued to grow larger by the second. “So much for not getting involved,” you muttered to yourself, your hand tightening on Fading Corrosion. Black particles began to rise from the whip, signaling the activation of its ability. As a Nobody, you controlled the power of disintegration, which had earned you your Organization title of Manipulator of Dissolution. Whenever the whip would open up a wound, the edges of it would begin to crumble away. Both living organisms and inanimate objects were subject to this power.

 

You glanced back up at the clock tower, but Roxas had disappeared; he hadn’t yet mastered how to open a Corridor of Darkness, and it was risky for him to try, since he couldn’t always control where it took him. The one that had allowed him to find you when you were in The Castle That Never Was had probably belonged to Saix. He was now most likely finding a way down from the tower to come help you. One thing that could be said about the boy: he was reliable, and always ready to help if you needed it.

 

But you couldn’t wait until he reached you. Even though you had no heart that they could take, those Heartless could still do you harm. You looked around, taking in your competition. There was still no sign of the one you and Roxas had been sent here for; these were of various shapes and sizes, but you thought the two of you could take them. But just in case… You raised one hand, and in a cascade of thorny light, Dusks began to pop into existence among the dark creatures. They were low to the ground, scuttling on four thin legs that didn’t seem strong enough to even allow them to move. Long and slender, they looked more like animate ribbons than anything, with large, gaping mouths that had the ability to tear off large chunks of whatever they bit into, rotting it away. These were the Dusks that you controlled, known as Blights. At a wave of your hand, they dove into battle, ripping and tearing at everything they could get hold of.

 

You had never seen so many Heartless in one place before, but deep within you, something stirred. A faint memory, long buried. _You had been surrounded like this before._ No, not _you_. Someone else. Someone with a different name. Someone with a heart. You felt the remnants of fear trickle through you, but it didn’t come from the army of Heartless that surrounded you. _It came from…_

 

What _was_ that? You shook your head, putting the thought aside. It wasn’t important right now. Cracking Fading Corrosion sharply, the single length divided into three parts, then again into six, and finally into nine. The tendrils writhed like the Dusks that surrounded you, and the air was filled with black particles that rose from each piece.

 

Another flash. _Being chased through winding streets in a different town. The feeling of triumph when you thought you had lost your pursuers._

 

You clenched your teeth, anger surging up to replace those detached sensations. Whatever you were feeling, it wasn’t real. It wasn’t _you_. It belonged to a different time, a different place. A different person. Drawing your arm back, you lashed out with your weapon, and it cut through the nearest group of Heartless like a hot knife through butter, causing them to disappear in a burst of swirling darkness. Leaping forward, you spun in a circle, the tendrils flowing in an arc around you.

 

_Suddenly, hopelessness; you were facing another group of Heartless, and there was no escape this time. You didn’t have Fading Corrosion, or any other method of defending yourself. They were going to attack, and you couldn’t-_

 

A yell tore from your throat as you pushed back whatever it was you were feeling. If you let yourself be distracted, you would lose this fight. They would get the better of you, and then… You didn’t want to think of what might happen after that. Cutting down another round of Heartless, you heard the sounds of battle from the direction of the clock tower. Roxas had joined the fray, and was now helping to clear away the massive swarm that had overtaken you. Beams of brilliant white light shot from the ground, vaporizing the dark creatures where they stood. Roxas wasn’t holding back; he was just as serious as you were.

 

Well, then… You concentrated, and the nine tendrils of your weapon began to split apart, quadrupling in length and dividing into ever thinner threads, which all took on a life of their own, spearing through every Heartless they could reach. Unfortunately, because this was your strongest attack, you couldn’t unleash it fully, or you would exhaust yourself and be rendered helpless, should this only be the first wave of attackers.

 

_Helpless? No. There was still an escape route. Just to your left, a high wall. You managed to clamber over it, running along the top until you felt a loose stone turn under your foot, sending you crashing down-_

 

A shield of black threads now stood between you and the advancing Heartless, cutting them down whenever they dared get too close. You could feel your strength waning, but the crowd was beginning to thin. You could see a way out of this.

 

_There was no way out this time. They had you cornered on a ledge high above a deep canyon. Backed up to the very edge, you felt the ground collapse beneath your foot, and stepped forward to keep yourself from falling. This was the end. You reached up, wrapping your arms around yourself. It was over. As the approaching creatures leapt towards you, you closed your eyes, falling back… Claws, gripping your body, falling with you. Searing heat, burning you up from the inside. Darkness, and then-_

 

And then it was over. Just like that, the last Heartless had been eliminated, and you stood in the cleared street, breathing hard. Fading Corrosion melted back into a single thick piece, the particles dissolving into nothing as you deactivated its ability. A short distance away, you could see Roxas, his chest heaving, just as yours was. You gave him a smile, which he returned.

 

Suddenly, the ground shook beneath the two of you, and a massive, clawed hand grabbed hold of the ledge that overlooked the train tracks below. You had found the Heartless that you had been sent to dispatch. Or rather, _it_ had found _you._ Roxas hurried over to you, holding his Keyblade low to the ground in a stance you had seen him take many times before. He was still prepared to fight.

 

“Get back,” he instructed you. “I can take this guy, no problem.” You could see that his deep blue eyes were intense as he watched the beastlike Heartless pull itself up over the low wall. It stood on four legs, with a gaping, fanged maw that could snap you both up in an instant if you got too close. Twisted horns sprouted from its head, and its eyes glowed crimson as it looked at you.

 

You reached out, placing one hand on his shoulder. “Be careful,” you warned him. “Don’t be overconfident. I’ll help you, if you need me.” Slowly, you backed away, out of range of the battle that was about to take place. You hadn’t seen just how many Heartless Roxas had disposed of, so it was possible that he wasn’t as tired as you were. He might still be able to do this by himself.

 

You hoped.

 

The beast wasted no time, charging towards him. As it did, you saw something on its back break off, dissolving into thin air. What had that been…? You looked away, scanning the area. No sign of anything that looked like it could have just come from that monster. Returning your gaze to the fight, you saw Roxas leap over a paw that had swiped at him, bringing his Keyblade down hard right between the thing’s horns. It shook its head as if dazed, and Roxas followed up with another burst of white light. It ringed the creature, surging up from beneath it and gouging deep furrows into its body.

 

Roxas flipped back away from the Heartless, and as he did, you saw something rush at him from out of the shadows. It looked like one of the beast’s legs, even though all four were still firmly attached. Where had that come from?! He didn’t see it, you realized. He was too focused on the fight that was in front of him.

 

“Roxas, _move_!” As that detached claw raced for him, so did you, throwing your hand out and opening a Corridor a few feet to his left. Just before the claw could reach him, you rammed your shoulder hard into the boy’s smaller body, sending him hurtling into the swirling tendrils. A moment before he vanished, you saw his eyes widen, and you screamed in agony as you felt the claws that had been aimed at him sink into your back, slicing deep furrows into your skin and shredding your coat in the process.

 

You hit the ground hard, and the claw followed suit a short distance away, its work done. You watched as it melted away into nothing, leaving only a few droplets of your blood. Deprived of its original target, the massive Heartless began advancing on you, and you struggled to your feet, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to fight it now that you were wounded, and severely, at that. Though your legs threatened to buckle, you gathered the last ounce of your strength, and threw yourself into the portal after Roxas, leaving the Heartless behind just as it leapt towards you.

 

The Corridor of Darkness spat you out into The Grey Area, and you stumbled out of it, falling to your knees, and then collapsing, breathing hard. You could feel blood trailing down your left hand from the deep slashes carved into your back, and knew that you were leaving crimson smears on the spotless grey stone that made up the Castle. You would probably get in trouble for that, along with everything else that had happened, but you didn’t care. Your main concern was…

 

Distantly, you felt someone kneel down next to you, and you were turned over onto your back. Your upper body was lifted, and held against a warm chest. “(Name), are you okay?! Why did you _do_ that? You could have been killed!”

 

Your eyes opened, and even though it took a moment for your vision to focus, you knew that your goal had been achieved. Reaching up, you placed your non-bloody hand on his shoulder. “Roxas…are you all right? I’m sorry I threw you into the Corridor like that…”

 

He shook his head. “I’m fine, but you’re not. You took that attack for me, and look at you now. I have to get you to Vexen; he’ll heal you.” As he pulled one of your arms over his narrow shoulders, he helped you to your feet, taking some of your weight so you wouldn’t collapse again. “Do you have the strength to open another Corridor?” he asked. You nodded, raising your free hand, and a portal sprang to life around the two of you. When you exited, you were standing in the middle of the large suite of rooms that the Organization’s Number IV had claimed for himself and his research. For the most part, you had no idea what went on in these rooms, and you had hoped never to find out. Unfortunately for you, Vexen acted as the unofficial healer whenever someone was injured.

 

The man himself was currently standing on the opposite side of the room, bent over a table and writing something in a book. At the sound of the Corridor opening, he straightened and turned, looking at the pair of you curiously. His emerald eyes fixed on your slumped posture, and the blood he could see on your hand, which was currently dripping onto the floor.

 

He sighed in something resembling annoyance. “Yet another mess for me to clean up… What have you done to yourself, (Name)? I’m a scientist; I don’t have time to patch up every little scratch one of you gets because you’re too reckless in fights.”

 

“Vexen, please. She protected me from a Heartless. If it’s that much of a problem, give everything to me, and I’ll do it myself,” Roxas said, making the older man eye him.

 

“Are you sure about that? Based on the amount of blood, the wounds are deep. Do you have the skills required? What's more, she was injured protecting _you_. I doubt you’re in the right frame of mind to try and handle something like this. No, I’ll do it myself. Put her down over there.” He waved one hand dismissively at a small bed that was tucked into one corner.

 

Roxas helped you over to it, and you stretched out on your stomach. Vexen made his way over to you, leaning forward to peer at the wounds that stretched across your back. The Heartless had ripped straight through your coat, so he could see the gashes through the torn material.

 

“Leave, child. You’re no longer needed,” he said after a few moments of contemplation.

 

“But-”

 

The blond man glanced back at the teen. “I have to remove her coat. I don’t think you want to be in here for that. You can return after I’m finished, if you’re that insistent.” He didn’t wait for a response, going over to a tall cabinet and rummaging around inside of it. He returned to you with a bottle of liquid, a pair of scissors, and a roll of bandages, which he placed on the bed beside you.

 

You turned your head to look at Roxas, and you could have sworn that you saw a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks; he was just a boy, after all, Nobody or not. The thought of a partially-naked woman would undoubtedly make him blush. “It’s all right, Roxas. Just go; I’ll be fine.” You gave him a shaky smile that you didn’t really feel, though you were touched by his concern. You owed him a very large explanation for this, you knew. Raising your right hand, you gestured to him, and he made his way over to you, somewhat surprised. When he was close enough, you reached up, ruffling his sandy hair gently, as you had done before. “I’ll tell you everything later, I promise.”

 

Roxas hesitated a moment longer, then sighed, turning. “I’ll come back,” he assured you. Before you had time to reply, he had walked out of the room, leaving you alone with Vexen.

 

Picking up the scissors, he began to cut open your blood-soaked coat, revealing the extent of the wounds on your back. Three deep furrows had been carved into the skin, starting from your left shoulder and extending diagonally down to just below your ribcage. You turned your head to look at the Chilly Academic.

 

“How bad is it?” you asked, unable to see the injuries yourself. Your back was on fire, and based on the amount of blood that had seeped into the fabric of your coat, you could tell that they were more than simple scratches.

 

“Hm. You’ve lost a bit of blood, but you’ll heal, with some help. You foolish girl; how could you be stupid enough to let yourself be wounded like this? If it had been any worse, you would be out of commission for some time.” He unrolled a length of the bandages, tearing it off and soaking it in the liquid that filled the bottle. You hissed as he began to clean the wounds, your fingers curling tightly into the blanket beneath you.

 

“I didn’t have a choice. The Heartless was after Roxas. If I hadn’t pushed him out of the way, these wounds would be his.” Pain seared through you as the cold liquid entered the channels, making them hurt almost worse than they had the moment you received them. Your body trembled with the effort of keeping still, knowing that Vexen wouldn’t appreciate having to deal with you squirming around. He was already playing the unwilling healer; the last thing you wanted to do was make his job even harder.

 

When he was finished dabbing the healing potion onto your wounds, he deftly wrapped the bandages around you, covering you from collarbone to stomach, along with your left shoulder and upper arm. Concentrated on keeping still and quiet, you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings, and didn’t hear another person enter the room. The only warning you had was when you heard Vexen step back, turning to face the new visitor.

 

You glanced over, and felt a sudden constriction in your chest when you saw who had joined you. The Superior of the In-Between, Xemnas, towered over the bed you were lying on, his arms crossed over his broad chest. His gaze swept along the floor, following the trail of blood you had left behind. At last, they settled on you. You had known that you would probably have to answer to him eventually, but you hadn’t thought it would be so soon, and you certainly hadn’t thought it would be when your coat was in tatters around you.

 

“Are you finished, Vexen?” Xemnas rumbled, his deep bass sending a faint chill up your spine. His voice had always had the ability to entrance you; you’d never heard anything like it before. Smooth as silk, and just as powerful as the man it belonged to, you could listen to it for hours. Then again, Xemnas was incredibly intimidating, and being this close to him was unsettling, especially when his liquid amber eyes were fixed so intently on you.

 

“Yes. All that’s needed is a few days of rest, and she’ll be fully healed.” Vexen glanced over at Xemnas, and as if he was sensing the silver-haired man’s next words, he stepped back. “But if you’ll excuse me, there are some things I need to take care of.” He turned, vanishing in a swirl of black and purple tendrils.

 

This wasn’t good. Vexen might not have been your first choice for company, but you had been hoping that he would remain to act as a buffer between you and Xemnas. Gathering the remnants of your coat against your chest, you tried to sit up, only to feel two strong fingers press against the back of your neck. Though he wasn’t pushing down especially hard, you immediately stopped moving, mostly out of surprise. As far as you had seen, Xemnas had never touched _anyone_ before.

 

“Be still,” he commanded. “Your back is sliced open in three places. I won’t have you injuring yourself further.” He paused, and when he was sure that you were going to be obedient, he removed his hand. “Now, explain to me why the mission was a failure.”

 

A part of you wondered how he knew exactly how many wounds you had; he must have appeared before Vexen had started bandaging your back. You sighed, burying your face in the blankets beneath you for a moment. “There were more Heartless than we expected there to be. Most of them were small enough that they weren’t a threat, but there were so many that we had begun to exhaust ourselves by the time the one we were sent after finally surfaced. Roxas was focused on it, and I kept my distance, as instructed. What we didn’t know was that it could split itself into multiple pieces, each one with its own intelligence, and capable of fighting independently of the main body. Those pieces tried to attack Roxas, and I…I stopped them. I knocked him out of the way, throwing him into a Corridor of Darkness before he could be hurt, and I took the attack instead. After that, I retreated; I couldn’t keep fighting with these wounds.”

 

“You risked your own life to protect someone else? That is quite unusual; selflessness is not a trait a Nobody usually possesses. Or was it simply recklessness?”

 

A wry smile came to your face, but you were careful not to let Xemnas see it. “Vexen said the same thing; that I was troubling him because I was too reckless. But I had no other choice. Roxas’ safety was more important than letting him kill that Heartless. They can be replaced; _he_ can’t. But the mission can still be salvaged. I know what to expect now. When I’m healed, we’ll go back there, and-”

 

“You care for the boy.” It wasn’t a question. “You have no heart, yet you have formed an attachment to him. Why is that?”

 

You turned your head to look at him, and your eyes locked with his. Once your gazes met, you realized that you weren’t able to look away. Those fiery orbs were frightening at times, but always utterly mesmerizing.

 

“It’s…complicated,” you admitted. “I don’t remember having a little brother when I was still whole, but that’s how I think of him. There’s something different… Something he has that I had never seen since becoming a Nobody, until I met him. On top of that, from the day I joined the Organization, I was told that the Keyblade wielder was vital to our plans. It took us so long to find him, and now that we finally have, we can’t let anything happen to him, right? We need him most of all.”

 

It had taken you a while to understand it, but finally, you had been able to pinpoint exactly what it was that drew you to the boy. Out of all of the Nobodies, he was the most pure. Each member of the Organization had various degrees of darkness within them, but you – and the others - had been able to sense that it was almost nonexistent in Roxas. You instinctively wanted to protect that light, perhaps believing in a distant corner of your mind that it might help you to regain your own lost heart.

 

Xemnas narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “Your heart will never be returned to you if you die,” he pointed out. “Sacrificing yourself will achieve nothing. It’s true that we need him for our plans, but he’s not the only one. Each one of you has your own part to play in this, but you must be alive for that.” In one smooth move, he reached out, catching your chin in his strong hand. “From the day you were born a Nobody, you have been loyal to me, and our goal. That is invaluable. Your new life…is _not_ for a Heartless to take. Do you understand?”

 

You were stunned, both by his words, and his actions. While it had never been stated outright, you had always been under the impression that you would have been a negligible loss, should anything happen to you. The day you had manifested your weapon, you were sure that you had seen disappointment flash through his eyes, and from that point, you had thought that you weren’t all that important to the Organization. Because of that, you had thrown yourself into your responsibilities, carrying out missions with an efficiency you hoped would impress the stoic Superior, and prove your worth to him. However, you’d never thought that he had noticed, until now. You had lost track of how many assignments you had been sent on, and this was the first one you had ever failed. It was no wonder that he had come to you demanding answers for what had happened this time. It was completely unlike you.

 

Your mouth opened and closed soundlessly for a moment, and it wasn’t until you felt his grip tighten marginally that you realized it hadn’t been a rhetorical question. “Yes, Superior…I understand.” You were still in quite a bit of pain, and your mind was somewhat cloudy, so it was possible that you imagined it, but you thought you felt his thumb stroke gently along your jawline, just once.

 

His hand fell away from your chin, and with a rustling of his coat, he turned away from you. “In exactly three days, come to the Addled Impasse. Your wounds should have healed sufficiently by that time; I will decide what to do with you then. This is your first mission failure, so the consequences will not be too severe.”

 

You started to reply, but before you could, Xemnas had waved one arm, and a Corridor of Darkness appeared around you. Just before the room was lost to sight, you saw his head turn slightly, and he glanced back over his shoulder at you with what you thought was almost a calculating expression. The next thing you knew, you were lying in your own bed, in your room.

 

This startled you a bit. Given your current state, you’d thought that you would have had to remain in Vexen’s rooms until you had healed enough to be able to summon another Corridor by yourself. Your own room was a much more preferable place to recover. It wasn’t that you had a problem with the Academic; not really. It was just that he was always so wrapped up in his own agenda that he was almost completely unapproachable. If you had ever asked about his research, it was possible that he would have opened up more, but you weren’t sure you wanted to know about what he got up to when he locked himself up behind those doors.

 

At least you were back in a familiar place, and able to think about what had just transpired. That entire conversation had utterly confused you. At first, you had thought he would be furious with you for disobeying his orders, and would punish you for it right then and there. But not only had he not done that, he hadn’t even seemed all that upset. You reached up, running your fingers beneath your chin. You could still feel his warmth… Those powerful fingers had gripped you so surprisingly gently. And what had he meant when he’d said that your life wasn’t for the Heartless to take? That had been a loaded statement. It sounded innocent enough on the surface, but somehow, you felt like there was more to it. There was an underlying meaning to what he had said, even if you couldn’t quite figure it out. The Superior of the In-Between was one of the most difficult members of the Organization to understand; he was largely absent from the day to day life, usually allowing Saix to take over the administrative duties in his place. Where he was during these times, you couldn’t even begin to guess. Because of this, you still weren’t confident that you knew what the silver-haired man was truly like.

 

 If all of that wasn’t bad enough, there were also the strange memories and feelings that had awakened within you when you had been trying to run the gauntlet of the Heartless in Twilight Town. You still had memories of your life when you were whole, though they weren’t anywhere close to complete. And you recalled nothing of what had happened to you in the moments leading up to your rebirth as a Nobody…until now. That had to be what you had felt. Seeing all of those Heartless gathered around you like that had triggered a nearly-identical surge of recollection, though you hadn’t wanted it. Those were memories that you could have done without.

 

You sighed, maneuvering yourself carefully on the bed until you were able to pull off the remnants of your coat, tossing it aside. It was ruined; you would have to get another one. …just as soon as you were able to move. Folding your arms beneath your head, you closed your eyes. Your mind continued to spin, pondering the mystery that called himself Xemnas, but eventually, unconsciousness began to tug at you, and you fell into sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Since you were forbidden to take part in missions, and unable to even practice your abilities, the three days crawled by slower than you would have believed possible. You had been obedient the first day, only getting up to retrieve a new coat, and then returning to the bed, but now you were starting to get cabin fever. You’d had two visitors; Roxas had come to find you, just as he’d said, and you had explained to him why you had taken the attack that had been meant for him. You knew that the rest of the Organization members weren’t that close with him, save for Number VIII, Axel, so your words had come as a bit of a surprise to him when you had admitted that you wanted to keep him safe.

 

Despite not having a heart, Roxas had been feeling guilty, believing Vexen’s words that it had been his fault you had been injured. As soon as you realized this, you were quick to reassure him that the decision had been entirely yours; you’d done it because you wanted to, not because you felt that you _had_ to, as he seemed to think. You had gotten through to him, and he had smiled at you in the way that had endeared him to you in the first place. After some thought, you had decided to leave out the part of the explanation that included his importance as a tool for collecting hearts. You didn’t want him to think that was the only reason why you had protected him. Besides, that one had been secondary. Keeping him safe because of your affection for him was the only thing he needed to hear.

 

Your other visitor had been a surly Vexen, who stayed only long enough to bring you a new set of bandages, and make sure that your wounds were healing the way they were supposed to. After the second day, you were allowed to remove them completely, though your back was still sore. Thanks to the potion the blond had used on them, the slashes had sealed themselves, leaving behind tender pink skin. While you would have to be careful not to overexert yourself and tear them open again, you were no longer confined to your room, which you were very happy about.

 

However, as the three-day deadline drew closer, that happiness began to fade, to be replaced by nervousness. You still had no idea what Xemnas was planning for you, and you weren’t reassured by his words that the punishment wouldn’t be severe. Eventually, you could stand it no longer, and you summoned a Corridor of Darkness. It was still early, so you weren’t yet expected at the place he had designated, but it was better than wearing a path on the floor of your bedroom because you couldn’t stop pacing back and forth.

 

As you entered the large room, you looked around. You knew that this place was a favorite of Number VII, Saix, though the quiet man was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Xemnas had probably told him to occupy his time elsewhere for a few hours. Left with nothing to do but wait, you crossed over to the wall of glass, sitting down in the corner with your back against the stone. You drew your knees up to your chest, gazing out at the yellow glow of Kingdom Hearts. From this room, you had a perfect view of it, which was probably why Saix liked to come here so often. Apart from Xemnas, he had always been the most driven when it came to completing the moon. It wasn’t as small as it had been when you first saw it, but you knew that it still had a while to go before it was complete. Then again, because of Roxas, that day might not be as far off as you had once feared.

 

Your head turned as you heard another Corridor open nearby, and you quickly stood as you saw The Superior of the In-Between materialize out of the dancing tendrils. He had come here a lot faster than you thought he would. You were suddenly glad that you had gotten here first; the idea of keeping Xemnas waiting wasn’t one you liked to think about.

 

The man in question arched one eyebrow just a fraction as he saw you. “Prompt, as always,” he noted. That was one thing you prided yourself on – you were always one of the first to arrive whenever meetings were called; not once had you been the last to gather. On top of that, you constantly finished your missions much earlier than was expected of you. Or rather, _nearly_ constantly. This most recent mission was a dark spot you wouldn’t be able to erase, perhaps to lasting consequences.

 

The silver-haired man closed the distance between you, stopping when he was a few feet away. He didn’t waste time with small talk, diving directly into the matter he had summoned you here for. “I believed that the intelligence the Dusks had gathered on the Heartless you faced was accurate. All of our abilities are deadly to Heartless, so why did you struggle so with this one? Why did it give _two_ of you so much trouble? Has your power begun to wane? I would have thought, given the amount of time you’ve had to work with them, your abilities would have been perfected by now.”

 

You almost flinched at his words. “They are, Superior, I assure you! This failure wasn’t a reflection of my power; I was just taken by surprise. It will _not_ happen again.”

 

“So you say.” He was silent for a long time, regarding you with an expression you couldn’t read. This was nothing new; you had never been able to figure out what he was thinking. But his silence was making you nervous, and he probably knew that. He was most likely purposely drawing this out, heightening the tension you were feeling.

 

At last, he seemed to have had enough, and broke the silence. “I’m interested to see if you were indeed just taken off-guard, or if your abilities are weakening. I believe a demonstration of your skills will be enough. If you can prove that this mission was the exception, your punishment will be revoked.”

 

This caught your attention. He was willing to forego punishment? This was new. He had never been shy about voicing his displeasure when things didn’t work out the way he wanted them to, and you had thought the policy would be the same regarding the consequences of failed assignments. But you were getting ahead of yourself. You were still wounded, so you wouldn’t be at full strength. It would take every last ounce of your power just to keep up with… Was he going to test you personally? That was what it had sounded like, but you weren’t sure. If he was, that would make this even more difficult. You were fast, but even you couldn’t keep up with his speed. This was probably going to be more a matter of all-out defense than anything else, and you didn’t like that. Swift offense had always been your preferred method of battle. You weren’t looking forward to this at all. 

 

Still, you had no choice, and there was only one thing you could say in response. “Yes, Superior. Thank you.”

 

Xemnas held out one hand, and a slender, red beam of light appeared from the center of his palm. An Ethereal Blade; beautiful, but powerful beyond compare. At least he was only using one. For now. Almost carelessly, he swung his arm down, though it wasn’t an attack. He just seemed to be loosening up. “Fight to strike me down…if you can.” The way he said this was almost taunting.

 

Coming from anyone else, this might have made you angry, but with him, you knew that would be a fatal mistake. He was always calm and composed, and in this, you would have to be, as well. Extending your hand out to the side, you summoned Fading Corrosion, and the whip responded to your call, its ability activated immediately upon materializing. Although your first instinct was to attack, you stepped back a few paces, putting distance between the two of you, and took a defensive stance.

 

He didn’t bother with formalities. Drawing his arm back, he lunged forward, slashing at you. He moved so fast that you barely had time to snap your wrist, sending the whip twisting out. It came into contact with the Blade, wrapping around it, and you jerked back. You didn’t know whether you could even pull his weapon out of his grip; it seemed to be attached directly to his hand. At the very least, though, you hoped that the motion would put him off-balance. The whip drew taut…and Xemnas remained unmovable. He didn’t even take a step forward. At full strength, the outcome might have been different, but as it was, you couldn’t even budge him. Well, that was all right. You weren’t finished yet. Your eyes narrowed, and the whip began to writhe, splitting into three sections. While the main one remained secure around the glowing Blade, the other two twisted with a life of their own, flicking at his arm.

 

This _did_ make him move back, his weapon disengaging from yours. With distance between the two of you, a thought struck you, and you decided to use a trick you had learned from Axel during one of your missions together. You summoned a Corridor of Darkness, stepping into it and then opening another behind Xemnas, which you emerged from and lashed out at him again, the three tendrils cracking loudly. This method of getting around wasn’t foolproof; while quick, it wasn’t as fast as Xigbar’s spatial distortion ability, nor was it silent. It was why you didn’t bother with a stealthy attack – he had already heard the Corridor open, and was turning to meet you. This time, he deflected your attack before it could get close, and he stepped to the side, going into a spin that turned his Ethereal Blade into what looked like a whip of red light. It was lovely, but you weren’t going to let yourself be entranced by it.

 

You leapt back as he drew close, and sent Fading Corrosion spinning towards him once more. The way he was moving, you didn’t think he would be able to see the tendrils, nor would he be able to block them. You had a momentary advantage.

 

Or so you thought, until a dozen points of light began to glow between the two of you, and you gasped as bullets of light shot towards you. There was no time to dodge; you would have to block. Your weapon divided again and then a final time, and you flicked your wrist, trying not to let panic get the better of you. The nine tendrils met the beams of light, knocking them aside. But there weren’t enough; three yet remained that you couldn’t stop.

 

Opening another Corridor behind you, you fell back into it just as the projectiles struck where you had been standing. Cloaked in the swirling world of the in-between, you paused for a moment. Going back and forth like this wouldn’t let you gain any kind of foothold with him. No, this fight was going to have to become more intense; you would have to use all of your skill if you wanted to get the upper hand. Tendrils of darkness overwhelmed you, and you stepped out of the nearest wall. It was time to get serious. But oh, this was probably going to _hurt_. Your back wasn’t yet healed, and any strenuous movement risked ripping open the still-mending scars. It was a small price to pay, you reasoned, if it meant that you could prove yourself to the Superior.

 

Leaping into the air, you jumped backwards, planting a foot against the wall and using it as a springboard to launch yourself at him from above. Fading Corrosion danced out towards him, the nine sections of the whip swirling with black particles that would disintegrate whatever they touched. It wasn’t activated to its fullest, so if by some miracle it _did_ strike him, he wouldn’t be badly hurt.

 

Xemnas waved his arm in a sweeping arc, knocking aside your attack, but that didn’t stop _you_. Even as he was trying to raise his Blade for a second attack, you were flipping over so that you were upright once more. As you arced over him, you kicked out, your foot meeting his body just behind his left shoulder, and delivering a strong blow that finally made him stumble forward a couple of paces. You had known that he wouldn’t stay unbalanced for long, and sure enough, as you landed behind him, he was already turning, a second beam of light appearing in his other palm, which he then swung backhanded at you.

 

You ducked beneath the blow, channeling your will into your weapon so the tendrils reared up like snakes, attempting to wrap themselves around his legs. Seeing the movement, he leapt nimbly out of the way, sending another volley of light at you. This time, you jumped to the side, going into a roll to avoid the outermost projectiles. This fight was bringing back unpleasant memories of when he had forced your ability out of you soon after you had become a Nobody. You had been completely unprepared then, and had fallen to his attacks within minutes. Now, you were better able to withstand him. But you knew that he wasn’t taking you all that seriously. If he was, you would have been in for the fight of your life. Still, he wasn’t _entirely_ toying with you. You had proven that you could pose somewhat of a threat to him if he was careless.

 

This was confirmed a moment later when his form blinked out of existence. Your eyes widened, and you were immediately on guard. You had forgotten that he was able to teleport just as easily as Xigbar could, if not even better. He was going to come at you from out of nowhere, and if his strike landed, it could very well mean the end of the fight. Every sense was on high alert as you waited for him to reemerge.

 

Suddenly, you glanced up just in time to see him plummet headfirst from the ceiling, his dual Ethereal Blades creating a vortex around him as he spun towards you. He was starting to up the stakes now, if he decided to rely on more of his other powers. As he plunged towards you, a ring of bright crimson lights surrounded you. It looked like he wasn’t going to give you any chances to get away this time. But he wasn’t covering _all_ escape routes.

 

A faint smile came to your face as you opened a third Corridor beneath you, and it swallowed you up. However, it didn’t close quickly enough, and Xemnas reached you before it could disappear, which would have shielded you from harm. Thankfully, because of the way they were angled, the projectiles he had summoned didn’t follow you as well, so at least you didn’t have to worry about those. But you were still in imminent danger as the silver-haired man followed you into the between that his title had derived from. How fitting that the fight would have shifted to here, of all places. It was almost poetic, in a twisted kind of way.

 

You flipped back out of the way of his strike as he landed on one knee, both Blades outstretched to either side of his body. All around you, the nothingness swirled. Oddly, it wasn’t black, as you might have expected from this place, but a light blue-grey. It shifted restlessly, looking almost like sunlight on the bottom of a pool of water, and the symbol of the Nobodies danced over the surface.

 

Xemnas was relentless, standing back up and delivering a cross slash with both blades that had you leaping frantically out of the way. You seemed to be doing that a lot, you noted distantly. One of the blades came close enough that its brightness burned an afterimage into your vision, and you had to blink hard to clear it. Your trajectory sent you halfway around him, and you attempted another strike with your own weapon, the tendrils fanning out around him to attack from all directions.

 

Infuriatingly, he countered each one, turning to face you and preparing another attack. But you weren’t going to let him do this. As he struck out, a Corridor opened between the two of you. This was simply a shield; under its cover, you were enveloped in a second portal that deposited you back in the Addled Impasse. You knew that you could have teleported to wherever you wanted, and Xemnas would have no idea where you had gone, but this was cheating. You weren’t trying to escape from him in any kind of permanent manner; you were trying to prove that your abilities were still useful to the Organization, and by extension, so were you. If you fled, it would only cement Xemnas’ doubts into fact, and that would effectively end your tenure in the Organization, and possibly even your life, if the Superior took a notion that you were too troublesome to keep alive. He wouldn’t want a liability in his ranks, you knew.

 

Backing into a corner, you planted yourself there and waited; he wouldn’t be able to sneak up on you like this, so you would have a better chance of fighting back when he reappeared. You were sure that he knew where you had gone; his reasoning about your destination was no doubt the same as yours in regards to potential escape.

 

Sure enough, the black portal sprang out of the ground, and Xemnas stepped calmly out of it, his Blades held down at his sides. He wasn’t even breathing hard, you noticed, though the rising and falling of your own chest was beginning to quicken, partially out of a rush of adrenaline, but also because your wounds were taking a toll on you. Things were happening so fast that it felt like mere moments since the fight had begun, and you weren’t able to catch your breath in between attacks. That might even be part of his plan; exhaust you, so that you couldn’t fight back any longer. You were lucky that summoning a Corridor didn’t drain you very much, or you would have been on your last legs by now. As long as you had a little strength left, you could still use them.

 

This time, Xemnas didn’t advance on you again. He simply stood there, regarding you with those arresting amber eyes that seemed to glow in the dim room.  A smirk curled the edges of his lips up. “I wasn’t expecting to take this into the between,” he commented. “Clever trick, using the Corridors to teleport yourself during a fight. Did Xigbar teach you that?”

 

You shook your head. “He doesn’t bother with Corridors a lot of the time, thanks to his spatial manipulation abilities. I picked it up on my own, during missions.” You weren’t sure if you wanted to tell him exactly _who_ you had learned it from; that much could remain your secret. Not even Axel himself knew that you had begun to utilize it, though he would probably find out eventually.

 

“Useful, though pointless against me. The Corridor gives away where you’re going to appear.” Finally, he began to advance, his movements almost predatory. But you weren’t afraid. Adrenaline coursed through your blood, lending you strength that you didn’t have at the beginning of the fight.

 

“Is that so? I beg to differ…” You waved your free hand, and four portals sprang from the ground, one each at his front and back, and then one more on either side. You jumped forward, disappearing into the one between the two of you, and waited to see if he would pursue you again.

 

Fifteen seconds ticked by.

 

Thirty.

 

Sixty.

 

Still no sign of the Superior. Now that you were sure that he wasn’t going to follow, you lashed out with Fading Corrosion. It would be a blind attack, and it probably wouldn’t connect, but you had an ulterior motive. As the tendrils spun outward into the portal, you activated part of its limit. The sections each began to split into numerous pieces, becoming thinner with each division. En masse, they swarmed through the four portals, and you turned towards the one on your left. Leaping into it, you emerged at the Superior’s back; he was quite easily fending off the needle-sharp threads of your weapon. Truthfully, you were a bit surprised to find him still standing where you had left him. He could have easily stepped out of the square of portals, if he had wanted to; you had by no means trapped him. The only reason he was still there was because he had chosen to do so. He must have been curious to see what kind of trick you were attempting.

 

Sensing you behind him, Xemnas turned, and in the blink of an eye, vanished again. The threads of your attack crashed harmlessly into each other, and fell to the ground as you withdrew your concentration. This attack was usually deadly, and because of this, it drained a lot of your strength. You had to cancel it before it took too much. The pieces of the whip melted back into the nine original sections, and the Corridors you had surrounded Xemnas with faded from existence.

 

Again, you waited, not sure where he would attack from. You had no way of sensing his presence when he teleported like this. He completely disappeared. Suddenly, you had your answer as you heard the _swish_ of displaced air rushing at you from behind. You jumped straight up, just in time to avoid the horizontal slashes he had leveled at your back. The Blades passed beneath your feet, barely missing you. If you had been a fraction of a moment later, they would have struck home.

 

As you came down from the jump, you twisted your body around so that you were facing him again, and when you landed, a burning jolt of pain shot through your back, making your muscles threaten to seize up. You winced, biting back a sharp gasp. That had been a mistake; the  movement tugged on the still-healing flesh in a manner that set your nerves alight. Fading Corrosion flickered in your hand, attempting to disappear, but you sharpened your concentration, and it solidified. Quickly schooling your face into an expression of calm impassivity, you looked up at the Superior, determined to continue.

 

He stood a few feet away from you, one arm crossed over his broad chest, the other down by his side. His incandescent Ethereal Blades glowed dangerously, and you prepared yourself to leap back again; he was quite probably the fastest in the Organization, and he was braced for a horizontal slash. You couldn’t take your eyes off of him for a moment, or you would lose. Not that you had a chance of beating him, but you had at least been holding your own.

 

Strangely, though, he didn’t attack. He regarded you silently, and his eyes narrowed. Slowly, he lowered his arm, and his weapons disappeared, leaving the room darker than it had been a moment ago. “You are still in pain,” he observed. It wasn’t a question; he had seen your face contort when the lance of fire surged through you.

 

“I’m fine,” you were quick to assure him. “It was a muscle spasm; I just moved the wrong way.” You were _not_ about to let him think that a wound like that would weaken you. Bad enough that you had been bedridden for the first day, and forbidden from assignments ever since it had happened. Being thought of as weak – by _anyone_ – was unacceptable. Twice now you had disappointed him; once when you had manifested your weapon, and it hadn’t been a Keyblade, and then again when you had returned from the failed mission. There wouldn’t be a third time.

 

He closed the distance, his eyes burning into you. Reaching out, he placed a single finger beneath your chin, raising it. He was almost a foot taller than you, so you had to tip your head back quite a bit before you could lock eyes with him. Your breath caught in your throat as his scent enveloped you; it was hot, somehow, and completely _male_ , with some kind of sharp bite as an undertone.

 

“You’re a poor liar,” he informed you, and you thought you detected a ripple of amusement in his deep voice. His hand slipped down, and he unfastened the decorative chain on the front of your coat. The links chimed as they slid against each other, and you felt a sudden tightness in your chest as he found the zipper, drawing it down. When the inside curves of your breasts were just coming into view, he released the piece of metal. Slowly, he made his way around you, and you remained absolutely still, hardly even daring to breathe.

 

When he was directly behind you, he pulled your hair to one side, draping it over your shoulder and exposing your back. He took hold of the loosened upper part of your coat and began to tug it downwards, stopping once it reached your shoulderblades. Unable to help yourself, your head turned so that you could see him out of the corner of one eye. You could _feel_ his gaze on you; he was examining the tops of the three scars that had now been revealed. Though you couldn’t see it, the delicate pink skin of the healing wounds had turned an angry red at the edges in response to your exertions. Thankfully, the tissue hadn’t begun to tear.

 

You jumped as you felt him run his gloved fingers over the tender flesh, tracing along the furrows the Heartless had carved into you, and you couldn’t stop the soft gasp that escaped your lips as a tingle spread out from the point of contact. Unconsciously, your breathing was coming faster, and you felt warmer than you had been a moment ago.

 

Xemnas paused at the sound; a smirk came to his face, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He took a step forward, and you stiffened as his hard body leaned against your much smaller one. He placed his hands on your bare shoulders, bending forward to whisper in your ear. “Tell me, (Name)…do you desire me?”

 

You shivered as you felt his warm breath on your cheek, and you had to close your eyes as the strong urge to turn in his hold welled up within you. His chest rose and fell as he breathed, brushing against your back; you wanted nothing more than to face him, and feel that broad expanse beneath your fingers. It was torturous; he was your leader, _the_ Superior, and as such, he was off-limits, and completely unapproachable besides.

 

Your hands clenched into fists at your sides. It took every ounce of willpower you had to keep yourself still. “Nobodies can’t feel such things,” you said quietly. “We have no hearts, and without them, we don’t have emotions. Not the way that we did when we were whole.”

 

“Having no hearts does not necessarily mean that we are completely without emotions. Our hearts may be gone, but echoes of the emotions we once had still linger, deep within us. Sometimes, they just need the right stimulus to reawaken. We recall what they once felt like, and thus can experience them again, under the right circumstances. So…are _your_ memories surfacing?”

 

What he was saying were things you already knew; or rather, things you had suspected. While some of the other Nobodies definitely seemed to retain distinctive personalities and emotions – you included – you weren’t sure that Xemnas had ever displayed any true emotions of his own. Not for any real amount of time, in any case. Occasionally, you thought you had seen flickers, but they quickly disappeared. He was a Nobody in the truest sense of the word. But just because it didn’t seem possible for _him_ to feel those remnants, that didn’t mean you couldn’t.

 

You turned ever so slightly, just enough to be able to see him better. “Is that true for you, as well?” you asked, throwing caution – and your sense of self-preservation – to the wind. For a moment, you thought you felt his hands tighten on your shoulders, and you were afraid that you had overstepped your bounds. But to your surprise, he answered the question.

 

“Not in the way it is for you. Emotions were lost to me long ago. But physical sensations remain, as do…certain desires.”

 

Again, you trembled against him. The way he was pressed against you, you could feel the vibrations of his voice deep within his chest. It shot straight through you, setting your blood on fire. He couldn’t be insinuating what you thought he was, could he?

 

Though arousal saturated your blood, you wanted distance from him. What if he didn’t like your words? But he showed no signs of releasing you, so you had to settle for breaking his gaze, looking away from him so he couldn’t see your face. Your hands came up, and you placed them over your chest, covering the heart you no longer had. “Whether these feelings are real or not, I’ve had them for a while now. I just never thought I would get the chance to… I mean, I thought they would fade over time.” For quite a while, you had realized that certain emotions would arise within you whenever you thought about or saw him. It didn’t take you long to figure out what they meant: you wanted him. Normally, whatever emotions you felt would soon fade away again, after a short amount of time had passed since whatever happened to reawaken them in the first place. But inexplicably, these lingered, defying everything you thought you knew about what it meant to be a Nobody. Still, you couldn’t say that you disliked them. Even though they made you physically uncomfortable, they reminded you of what it had felt like when you were still whole. That fueled your desire to regain your lost heart, so you could feel things like that all the time, rather than just fleetingly.

 

His next words made you look back at him, pulling you out of your thoughts. “Emotions need not be real for you to act on them. The body still has physical needs, even if the feelings sometimes involved with those needs no longer exist within you as anything more than memories.”

 

Your eyes widened slightly, and your hands fell back to your sides. “Superior…? What are you saying?” For a few minutes, you had been able to drop the formalities you usually maintained in his presence, but now you were on your guard. He was making less sense by the moment, and it was making you wary. Better to return to the behavior that you were familiar and comfortable with.

 

“You are loyal; I’m interested to see just how deep it runs. I thought a test of your abilities would be the best method to prove yourself, but there may be a better way.” He could see the confusion in your eyes as you looked up at him, and he smirked in response. If you didn’t know any better, you might have thought he was enjoying this.

 

 ** _What_** _better way?_ Judging by his behavior, you felt like you had an inkling of just what he was talking about. He was acting almost as if he was attempting to seduce you…and it was working. Not that you would have needed much convincing in the first place. You had been very attracted to him since shortly after you had become a Nobody. That was what made all of this even more surreal, to the point where you weren’t completely sure that you were actually experiencing it. All of this could very well be some fever dream your mind came up with while you were recovering from your wounds. Well, if this _was_ a dream, you were going to make the most of it.

 

Gathering all of your courage, you turned around, and he raised his hands from your shoulders to allow you to move. He hadn’t stepped back, so when you faced him, your body was barely brushing against his. Belatedly, you realized that you hadn’t fixed your coat; it was still exposing the upper part of your breasts, but you didn’t care. Your movements were slow as you reached up, finally giving in to the desire you’d had to touch him. Lightly, almost to the point that it couldn’t be felt, you placed your hands on his broad chest, your fingers splaying out over the muscles you could feel beneath the coat. Like this, you were starkly reminded of just how _big_ he was. The black fabric strained over his torso and upper arms, pulled tight. It was difficult to tell, since the Organization’s uniform was often  a bit loose on those who wore it, but you had always been under the impression that Xemnas was one of the most well-build of everyone, excluding the impossibly massive Lexaeus and Xaldin. His body was thick with muscle, belying a speed in battle that no one could contend with.

 

On top of that, he was…well, _beautiful_. You knew such a word usually wasn’t used with masculine connotations, but it described him perfectly. His dusky skin provided a striking contrast to his long, silver hair, and his piercing amber eyes just heightened the effect. Two other members of the Organization had similar eyes, and they all seemed to glow from within;  Xigbar’s single eye was yellow, where Saix’s were more of a molten gold, but neither of them had the same depth of color that Xemnas’ had. Neither of them had the same impact on you, either. Only the Superior of the In-Between had the power to stop you in your tracks whenever he pinned you with that gaze.

 

Slowly, one of your hands slid up his chest, until your fingers finally came in contact with one side of his bangs. Gently, almost shyly, you ran your fingers through the argent strands, brushing them back out of his face. You couldn’t help but wonder what they would feel like against your bare skin. They certainly looked soft, but you couldn’t tell through the fabric of your glove.

 

During this time, he remained almost completely still, the only movement coming from the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and the occasional blink. You weren’t sure if you liked this passivity. It was impossible to tell whether he was acting this way because he thought any kind of response might scare you off, or if he was just completely disinterested in what you were doing. Your only clue was his eyes, which never left you. He was watching you _very_ intently, even if you couldn’t read the expression in his gaze.

 

Trembling with nervousness, your hand curled lightly around the back of his head, the other sliding up to rest on his shoulder. You stood on tiptoe, and even then, you were slightly too short to reach him. Did you dare…? Exerting just a bit of pressure on the back of his neck, you were surprised when he didn’t resist this, leaning down to meet you.

 

Your lips hovered just millimeters beneath his own; the slightest movement from either one of you would bring them together. You were just moments away from kissing him, something you’d thought would happen only in your mind. His body was warm and unyielding against you, and it was intoxicating, having such a powerful man this close to you.

 

Slowly, your eyes closed…and you abruptly turned, pulling completely away from him. You were furious with yourself; he was _right there_. Xemnas, the most unapproachable and intimidating member of the Organization, your leader, was not only letting you touch him – which you had always believed was forbidden – but was also allowing you to do whatever you wanted, including kissing him. You couldn’t say that you fully understood his motivations, but a part of you didn’t want to question them. Why would you turn down an opportunity like this?

 

Because you weren’t convinced that it wasn’t some kind of a trick. He had never done anything like this before, and it made no sense to you why he was doing it now. It wasn’t in his nature to be deceptive like this; that was more Xigbar’s territory, or perhaps even Vexen, who liked to create experiments that he could study and gather information from. But Xemnas himself had always been straightforward, never succumbing to playfulness or trickery. He was always deadly serious. And that was what unsettled you the most. What did he get out of all of this? He was very intelligent, and it was possible that he had recognized the signs of your attraction to him even before you had. But he wasn’t a compassionate man, and you didn’t try to fool yourself into thinking this was why he had gone easy on you in regards to punishment over the failed mission. He had probably been telling the truth when he’d said that he would be lenient since it was your first failure. So why…? Loneliness might have been the easiest answer, but you weren’t sure that he could even feel something like that. It was an emotion, after all, and he had admitted that he couldn’t experience them. His behavior was completely baffling, and had you chasing yourself in circles, trying to figure it all out.

 

You were suddenly brought out of your admittedly confusing thoughts when you felt Xemnas’ large hand wrap tightly around your wrist, engulfing it. Before you could think to retaliate, he had spun you around, one arm locking tightly around your lower back, the other twining through your hair, grasping the back of your head to keep you immobile. Unlike before, where you could hardly feel his body on yours, this time, you were pressed against his solid form, unable to move. He leaned over you, and his mouth descended on yours with almost bruising force. Your eyes widened in shock as he parted your lips with his tongue and swept inside, exploring your mouth. The first thought that made its way into your mind was that he tasted how he smelled; somehow, his scent was smoothly translated into a unique flavor that you liked quite a bit. Your second thought was that, for someone who didn’t have a heart, the man was _very_ talented at faking it. The kiss was deep and filled with a passion that you didn’t think you had ever felt before. It left you reeling…and hungry for more.

 

Unconsciously, you reached up, placing your hands on his chest again, your fingers curling into the material of his coat. Now over the worst of your surprise, you found yourself returning his kiss eagerly, all hesitation forgotten. A wave of pure desire rolled over you, causing your blood to boil. Feeling a bit bolder, you let your tongue slide against his, tasting him the way he had done to you. Your hands moved up, and you draped them over his wide shoulders.   

 

At last – but also much too soon – he broke away, leaving you breathless. As he did, you realized that, even though his own breathing was still calm and steady, the pupils of his eyes had been blown wide, eclipsing much of the amber rings. This told you that he wasn’t completely immune to what was happening. Emotions or not, it would have hurt if he had been totally unaffected. He’d said that he could still feel physical sensations and desires of the body, and to your delight, it looked like that desire was now directed at you.

 

“I know you fear me,” Xemnas rumbled, moving the hand that was holding the back of your head down to your waist, keeping you pressed against him. “But you have worked tirelessly to help us reach our goal of completing Kingdom Hearts, even though you are not a Keyblade wielder. I have no reason to harm you, and I believe that I have just proven that you have no need to be afraid. Let me see what you’re capable of, when that fear leaves you. You may be a Nobody, but I know that you still feel those lingering emotions. What would happen, I wonder…if you gave in to them? It’s what you want, after all.” He paused, studying your face. “Or am I mistaken?”

 

He had read you like an open book. Your Organization title may have been the Manipulator of Dissolution, but you were under no illusions about who was actually in control here. He was skillfully dictating your every move. And what was most interesting of all, you didn’t care. You wanted to see just how far he would let you go, and what it would be like. He would always be the Superior, always be intimidating, and a little frightening, but maybe… Maybe he would allow you to be his.

 

“No…” you whispered, your hands slowly sliding up from his shoulders and lacing your fingers behind his head. “You’re not mistaken.” This time, you didn’t hesitate. You pulled him down to meet you, kissing him in the same fashion that he had done to you a few moments ago. It was every bit as heated as his had been, though you were less forceful. Somehow, you knew that he wouldn’t appreciate you trying to take control.

 

Xemnas’ arms unwound from around you, sliding over your sides and up your chest to take hold of the open edges of your coat. In one smooth movement, he yanked it open, breaking the zipper and warping the metal teeth that had held the garment closed. But instead of opening it farther, he released it, leaving a thin strip of skin exposed down the center of your body. You sighed into the kiss as his hands found their way inside, skimming lightly over your warm flesh. It felt so different, not having the material of your coat in the way. Still, something was missing…

 

Pulling back slightly, you looked up at him. “Take your gloves off?” you suggested. It came out more as a hopeful request than a statement. As incentive, you untwined your arms from around his neck, shedding the pair you wore. When that was done, you eyed him thoughtfully. Now you would be able to find out whether your suspicion was correct or not. Reaching out, you gently touched his hair again, and a smile came to your face. The argent strands were like silk as they slid through your fingers. “I thought so… It’s soft.”

 

For the briefest instant, you thought you saw a flicker of surprise cross his face. But it was gone just as soon as it had come, and he was back to his usual calm expression. However, you felt his hands moving behind you, and the fabric of his gloves slid against your flesh as he dropped them. You jumped as you felt the first touch of his bare skin against your back. His fingers were rough against you; somehow, you had expected his hands to be soft. It was a nice contrast, you had to admit.

 

Slowly, you felt him glide up your back, and you flinched as he touched the bottom of the tender scars. For a moment, you thought he was going to stop, but he continued his upwards trajectory, tracing over the slick tissue. He was surprisingly gentle, you noticed, though you weren’t sure you liked him touching the still-healing wounds. It would take another few days before the flesh completely regrew, thanks to the help of Vexen’s potion. Despite this, though, you kept still, letting his hands roam where they wanted.

 

When he reached the top of your back, he moved down once more, and as he did, he moved his arms apart so your coat slowly opened. The garment fell from your shoulders, and only your bent arms kept it on you. This motion revealed your breasts to him, and you saw him glance down, his amber eyes drinking in the curves of your body. Your breath caught in your throat; what if he found you lacking?

 

Your fears were soon allayed as his left hand slipped from your back, and came up to rest on one soft mound. His thumb coasted lightly over the stiff peak, and you exhaled in relief. It seemed that you met with his approval. Soon after, you felt a tingle of pleasure run through you from the attention he was giving to the nipple.

 

Still playing with the ends of his hair, you finally moved your hands down, finding the decorative metal chain that extended across his chest. Hesitantly, you unfastened it, pausing to glance up at him. You wanted to make sure that you had his permission to do something so bold. He still hadn’t outright said you could do all of this. Strangely, you felt like you were doing something forbidden, and were just waiting for him to reach the edge of his patience and push you away. More than anything, you didn’t want that to happen. Your mind had been made up very quickly; you want to give yourself to him, completely. There would never be any real attachment or romance between the two of you, and you were all right with that. Xemnas wasn’t the type of man to form such connections, and now that you were a Nobody, all you could feel were the memories of emotions that had been lost to you. But that was enough. The idea that this was actually happening, and the potential of it happening again soothed the emptiness that came with losing your heart. When Kingdom Hearts was finished, and you became whole again, you might feel differently. For now, though, he was what you wanted, even if that desire was purely physical, on both your parts.

 

He leaned forward, his hair tickling over your skin. Suddenly, you felt his warm mouth on the junction of your neck and shoulder, and you gave a soft gasp as he lightly bit down, his tongue flickering over the skin. Your neck was quite sensitive, and his actions made a fresh wave of desire unfurl within you. He had never done this with you before, so how did he seem to know every button to press that would make you want him more? Unconsciously, you arched into him in an attempt to have as much contact between you as possible.

 

As you did this, you realized something. His body had always been solid against you, but something had changed. Like this, you could feel him pressing against your lower stomach. You weren’t the only one who was aroused. It was interesting… Throughout all of this, Xemnas had shown no signs of any kind of reaction, except for the fact that his pupils had dilated. He was just as composed as he always was. Based on what you knew about him, this probably wasn’t going to change. It was a bit disappointing, but you could live with it.

 

When he didn’t seem to object to what you were doing, you grasped the zipper, drawing it down. Slowly, the dark skin of his chest came into view, followed by the tightly-bunched muscles of his abdomen. The backs of your fingers ran over his stomach, and you felt your body heat up. Although you had never seen him truly fight, Xemnas had kept himself in pristine condition. You could practically sense the power radiating from his form, and you were reminded once again of just why he frightened you. But that edge of fear just lent an exotic spice to what you were feeling; strangely, you liked it. The thrill of danger was irresistible.

 

Once you had fully opened his coat, you rested your hands on the top of his pants. Glancing up at him curiously, you let your fingers dip down, brushing lightly over his clothed length. To your surprise, you thought you felt him tense slightly against you, though his face showed no change in expression.  Experimentally, you repeated the motion, using a bit more pressure.

 

Before you could do much else, he abruptly took a step back, circling around behind you. Hooking one strong arm around your waist so you couldn’t move, he ground his hips against your lower back, letting you feel the full extent of his arousal. At the same time, his other hand slipped slowly inside your pants and skimmed across the sensitive skin. You felt him inch downward excruciatingly slowly, and finally, his fingers found your folds. You stiffened suddenly against him, giving a soft gasp as he located the delicate bundle of nerves above your entrance and pressed down on it. A sharp shock of pleasure flooded through you, and he held you still as he repeated the motion, setting up a quick rhythm that soon became relentless.

 

Your legs trembled beneath you, and you leaned back against him, resting your head on his shoulder. When one of his long fingers slipped within you, a moan rose in your throat, and Xemnas smiled, though you didn’t see it. Oddly, he was somewhat enjoying this; or at least, as much as he was able to enjoy anything. The fact that you were letting him do whatever he wanted with you proved that you were completely at his mercy. Those reactions belonged to _him_ ; knowing that he was the cause of your pleasure, that you had submitted to him… _that_ was what aroused him most, making him want you even more.

 

He added a second finger, curling it into you and caressing your inner walls, searching for the places that would gain the most reaction from you. This made you arch against him as his fingers continued their movements, pushing you slowly towards your peak. Releasing your waist, he moved his free hand up, finding your breast and kneading the flesh. Hot pleasure spiraled within you, and without his immovable form supporting you, it was possible that your legs would have folded, sending you to the ground. It wasn’t long before your hips were moving in rhythm with his hand as you sought to find release beneath his touch.

 

“You are loyal to me,” he whispered in your ear, his smooth voice even lower than usual, almost more of a vibration than an actual sound. “I reward those whom I can depend on. This failure was…regrettable, but it can be overcome.” He paused, his amber eyes glittering. “Are you enjoying this?”

 

As if he really needed to ask; you thought it was obvious. You weren’t about to say this, though. “Yes, Superior,” you breathed. One arm came up, and you hooked it behind his head, your fingers sliding beneath his platinum hair. You tilted your own head up, running your nose along his jawline, and hoping he would get the hint.

 

He did. The hand that had been on your breast moved up to curl lightly around your neck, his fingers stroking gently over the skin, and his mouth found yours in a deep kiss. You hadn’t known that Xemnas could be so…sensual. But you were wary; he was doing all of this for you, yet he had not asked for anything in return. What was more, when you had taken your own initiative and tried to do something for him, he had moved away. You didn’t think that he had been upset with what you were doing, so you weren’t quite sure why he had stopped you.

 

Breaking the kiss, he kept hold of you, turning your head aside so it was slightly tilted back. He trailed his lips down over your jaw, and down your neck. You gave a soft yelp as he suddenly bit down, hard enough to leave a mark this time. Licking the stinging flesh, he leaned back enough that he could see your face. Your legs were barely able to support you any longer as they shook, and your hips jerked erratically as the tension in your lower belly began to grow. You gave a soft whimper of desperation; it was becoming almost painful now.

 

Just when you thought you couldn’t take it any longer, the pleasure suddenly broke, and you stiffened as it surged through you. The hand that was rested on the back of his neck tightened, and you clung to him as he kept up the motion of his fingers, letting you ride your climax to completion. When the trembling of your body died down, you went limp against him, breathing hard.

 

As he waited for you to regain your strength, he withdrew his hand, carefully licking his fingers clean of your essence. He looked thoughtfully at you and you returned his gaze a bit questioningly. Now you would learn his price for what he had just done, you knew, even if you weren’t quite sure what it might turn out to be.

 

Placing the hand that had been on your neck against your face, he stroked his thumb lightly across your cheek, trailing down to trace over your lips. “I’m curious…has anyone ever claimed that lovely mouth?”

 

For the first time, a faint blush came to your face, and you reached up to touch your cheek. You’d forgotten that you even knew _how_ to blush. To your knowledge, it hadn’t happened since you had become a Nobody. Until now, that is. You were surprised that he had asked you such a question, but it now told you exactly what he wanted you to do. Unable to hold his gaze any longer, you looked away. “I…don’t remember,” you murmured. This was a lie; you knew the answer to his question, but you didn’t want to say it. There were some things that you didn’t want to share, even with the Superior.

 

Thankfully, he didn’t call you out on it like he had done before, when you’d lied about being in pain. “No matter. We’ll find out firsthand just how skilled you are.” He leaned back against the wall, his eyes slightly narrowed as he watched you. There was a faint smile on his face, possibly in reaction to your embarrassment. One elegant silver eyebrow arched, as if to say, _I’m waiting_.

 

You weren’t against doing this; in all honesty, you were happy to do more or less anything he asked of you. But you were worried that you wouldn’t be able to please him. You couldn’t begin to guess what he would even like, and his almost emotionless personality made him impossible to read most of the time. Then again, you reasoned, if you weren’t doing a good enough job, he would tell you. With that thought in mind, you knelt down, bunching your coat beneath you so the hard stone floor wouldn’t hurt your knees.

 

Xemnas waited patiently for you to arrange yourself, never once moving or saying anything. He simply gazed down at you, his amber eyes blazing. With fingers that trembled slightly, you reached out, finding the buttons on the front of his pants and popping them open. Slowly, you tugged at the fabric, drawing it down over his hips. As his muscular thighs came into view, his length sprang free, and you leaned back slightly to get a better look at him.

 

As you did this, Xemnas helped you along, reaching down to pull off his boots and pants, and leaving him fully undressed. When he straightened again, he took one of your small hands in his own much larger one, wrapping it around his shaft in encouragement. He was a bit bigger than you had guessed just from touch alone, but he had only allowed you to do that for a few seconds, so you hadn’t had a chance to get an accurate read on just what you would be dealing with.

 

Slowly, carefully, you began to stroke him, running your fingers over the surprisingly silky flesh. With a bit of hesitation, you leaned forward, letting your tongue flick against the tip. You wanted to get a reaction of him with this…somehow. Earlier, you’d thought you felt him respond when you first touched him, though you weren’t certain. Just once, you wanted to see him lose his composure. You wanted to hear what it would sound like if he moaned with that extraordinarily deep voice.

 

Again, you ran your tongue over him, but this time it wasn’t just once. You moved from the tip down to the base, then back again, gaining confidence as you went. Unfortunately, just by looking at him, you knew that you wouldn’t be able to take him entirely into your mouth. You would have your work cut out for you, but you were up for the challenge. When the flesh was slick enough to suit you, you slowly engulfed him, running your tongue along the bottom. Before he could reach the back of your throat, you stopped and began to pull off, applying as much pressure as you could.

 

Your free hand came up to rest on his thigh, while the other one continued stroking what you couldn’t manage with your mouth. Within a moment, you felt him touch the back of your head, his fingers playing with your hair. You took this as a sign that he was enjoying what you were doing.

 

Just before he could leave your mouth, you stopped, and your tongue circled the tip, finding the sensitive slit and dipping inside for a moment. You felt a drop of liquid well up in response to your ministrations; it was salty and faintly bitter, but not overly unpleasant. If anything, you were pleased, as this meant that you were having a positive effect on him.

 

Carefully, you pushed him back into your mouth, keeping the tension on him, so he could only slide forward a bit at a time. All the while, your tongue caressed the underside, lashing back and forth and drawing random patterns on the skin. You felt his grip on your hair tighten, and to your delight, you heard him exhale sharply. It wasn’t quite the reaction you had hoped for, but it was a start, and it was enough to make you increase your efforts. Where before, you had been focused on keeping your movements slow and intense, now you quickened them, retaining the pressure you had on him, but not taking him as deeply into your mouth so you didn’t accidentally choke. Your hand sped up its motions, and you varied the tightness of your fingers, never settling into a predictable pattern.

 

This time, you were sure you felt it; his hips moved, and the muscles of his thigh flexed beneath your hand. You realized that he was struggling to keep himself still, an effort you greatly appreciated. Like this, he could easily hurt you if he allowed himself to move even a little. As you continued, you became aware of the sensation of being watched; you glanced up, and sure enough, his piercing eyes were fixed on you. He liked to watch you, you noted. Studying your expressions, reading the play of remembered emotions across your face whenever he said or did something that awakened them. Ordinarily, being observed like this would have unsettled you, but with Xemnas, it was…flattering, somehow. When you were given his undivided attention, his intense gaze made you feel like you were the only thing in the world that mattered.

 

Your eyes narrowed, and if your mouth hadn’t been busy, you would have smiled. As it was, you weren’t about to stop what you were doing. You took him in as deeply as you could, and when he was almost at the back of your throat, you suddenly swallowed, causing the pressure you were exerting on him to increase exponentially. That’s when it happened. You heard a low moan rumble through his chest. It was soft, but unmistakable. This little trick had caused the faintest crack to appear in his iron composure, and you were thrilled by that. Emotionless he might be, but even _he_ wasn’t immune to the pleasures of the body.

 

As you pulled back, you hummed, knowing the vibration would only heighten his pleasure. You very much wanted to hear him make that sound again; or, if not that specifically, at least give some expression of what he was feeling. This action seemed to give you what you wanted, if only partially. Xemnas’ eyes closed, and he tilted his head back, resting it against the wall. His breathing was heavy, and the hand entwined in your hair grasped you tightly.

 

“Your proficiency is…better than I expected,” he admitted, not opening his eyes as he spoke. His normally smooth voice was strained now, betraying the pleasure he was clearly feeling. Just as you began to take him back into your mouth again, he grasped the back of your neck, holding you in place. “But that’s enough.”

 

You looked up at him as he placed his hands on your shoulders, pushing you back far enough that he could slip out from between you and the wall. He took your arm, helping you to your feet with more gentleness than you would have expected. “Finish undressing, then return to your former position,” he instructed, stepping back to give you room.

 

Obediently, you did as he told you, unfastening your own pants and sliding them off, along with your boots. You set them aside, arranging yourself on your knees again. Xemnas approached you once more, but instead of allowing you to continue what you had started, he moved around behind you, placing his hand between your shoulderblades and pressing down. You got the hint, leaning forward and catching yourself on your hands.

 

The silver-haired man knelt down behind you, running one hand lightly over the scars on your back. He seemed to like touching them for some reason, even though it made you uncomfortable. They didn’t hurt, exactly, but they were surprisingly sensitive as the potion Vexen had given you busily worked to regrow the new flesh and the nerve endings beneath. You shuddered as the rough skin of his hands skimmed over the delicate flesh.

 

When he reached your hips, he took hold of you with one hand, and paused as he aligned himself with your entrance. You felt the tip of his length brush against your folds, but he didn’t move for several seconds. It didn’t take long for you to realize that he was waiting to see if you were going to protest, which you had no intention of doing. As he came to the same conclusion, he rocked his hips forward. You were still slick from your earlier climax, so he had no real trouble sliding into you. Still, he moved slowly, stopping every couple of seconds to allow you to get accustomed to his intrusion.

 

He hissed as he pushed deeper inside; your inner walls clenched him tightly, making it difficult for him to move, but also incredibly pleasurable. Throughout this, he was attentive to your responses, not sure if you had ever been with anyone before. You didn’t seem to be showing any signs of pain, nor had you tried to dissuade him when he’d positioned himself against you. That alone wasn’t necessarily proof, though. While he never went out of his way to avoid causing pain, neither did he actively seek to inflict it, either, especially on the members of the Organization who had served him well, such as yourself.

 

When he was fully seated inside of you, he pulled back, only to thrust forward again. Now that he was sure you weren’t in pain, he wasted no time in establishing a quick rhythm that bordered on roughness. Though he had begun with his hands on your hips, before long, they began to wander. He leaned over you, bracing himself on one arm, while the other reached beneath you, caressing your breasts. This was completely at odds with the movements of his hips, which rocked against you forcefully. But the conflicting rough and gentle treatments only served to kindle the pleasure you were feeling, and it slowly began to spread through your blood, making you moan.

 

He rested his chin against your shoulder, his hair tickling across your neck. “Is this what you wanted?” he murmured in your ear, taking the delicate shell between his teeth and nibbling gently on it.

 

“Yes… Very much.” Feeling his weight covering you the way it was stirred something deep within you. While you couldn’t identify exactly what it was, you enjoyed it. It made you feel…safe, somehow. With your abilities, you had no need of someone else’s protection, nor did you particularly want it. But he instilled a sense of _belonging_ in you, something that the Organization had started to make you feel. This was just a stronger version of it. You wanted to be his, in every sense of the word.

 

You turned your head, causing him to release your ear, but you had a different goal in mind. Taking your weight onto one hand, you reached up with the other, placing it against the side of his face. You closed your eyes, moving towards him. Your lips brushed across his, lightly at first, then more firmly.

 

As he returned the kiss, you felt his arm move back down to your waist, and he raised up, pulling you with him. At the same time, he began to lean back, and suddenly, black and purple tendrils of darkness sprang up, winding around the both of you as he opened a Corridor. The Addled Impasse faded as the two of you were transported elsewhere.

 

Before it could deposit you at your destination, he turned you in his hold, and after a moment of maneuvering, you were sitting in his lap, facing him. The Corridor of Darkness began to disappear, leaving you in a starkly white room that you recognized immediately. For some reason, you were in the meeting room, Where Nothing Gathers. You recognized the throne-like seats that were positioned in a circle, but you were looking _down_ on them. Xemnas had taken you to the one that belonged to him. This was very odd; why had he taken you here, of all places? The only conclusion you could come to was that this room instilled a sense of power within him, more than he was already feeling with his control over you. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t your place to question it. This wasn’t the first unfathomable thing he had done, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

 

He took hold of your waist. “Lean back. You won’t fall.”

 

Normally, when you and the others sat in these seats, you were perched on the edge, but now he had slid all the way back, so there was plenty of room for you to do as he said. You braced yourself on your hands, and slowly began to move your hips, not wanting to let the pleasure you were both feeling die down. The way you were now positioned allowed him to strike separate places within you, adding a different flavor to the sensations coursing through your blood. You threw your head back, closing your eyes and giving a soft gasp. This was the strongest thing you had felt since becoming a Nobody, apart from the raw pain when you had been attacked by the Heartless. It was exquisite, and the fact that Xemnas was the one you were experiencing it with made it all the sweeter. You had already found release one time at his hands, and now were well on the way to a second. Still, you would have liked to have been able to touch him, especially since you were up so high. There was no danger of you falling, though you still felt unsteady. But he had given you an order, and you didn’t dare disobey it.

 

As you picked up a rhythm, you felt him begin to move his hips with yours, matching your pace. It was the second time he had let you take charge, and you weren’t going to hesitate like you had before. You had promised yourself that you would never disappoint him again, and that included things like this.

 

He raised one hand from your waist, and his fingers unerringly sought the bundle of nerves just above where you were joined. Carefully, he began to manipulate it, making you moan as the pleasure suddenly spiked. You felt his hips begin to jerk almost erratically, and you knew that he was close to his own peak.

 

His hand slid up your back, and you suddenly found yourself yanked towards him, pulled roughly against his chest. You caught yourself on his shoulders before you could crash into him, and his mouth suddenly clamped down on yours. As your release approached, you broke the kiss, and a sudden surge of boldness shot through you. Like he had done to you before, you leaned forward to whisper in his pointed ear, your voice harsh with pleasure. “Let me be yours.” It was a risk beyond measure, asking this of him, but you couldn’t help yourself. You had to do it. Neither of you had hearts, and he didn’t even have the memory of emotions, but you didn’t care. They weren’t needed for this.

 

Before he could answer, your body stiffened as you finally reached your peak, and you gripped his shoulders tightly, awash in sensations that set every nerve on fire. Then, though your senses were dimmed by the intense pleasure, you distantly heard him say three words.

 

“You already are.”

 

At that moment, you knew that he found his own release, as you felt a sudden heat fill you. You continued moving your hips until the last of the pleasure faded from your blood, and you were sure that the same was true for him. Utterly drained, you leaned against him and rested your head on his shoulder, breathing hard.

 

He was still for a long time beneath you, his arms wrapped around your trembling frame. The thought crossed your mind that he might be regretting his words, especially if they were said in the heat of the moment, when you had both been caught up in a torrent of pleasure. But he hadn’t pushed you away, as he probably would have done if he wasn’t serious about what he had said. No, he had meant it. His silence was probably for the same reason you hadn’t yet spoken; he was tired.

 

“My Superior…” you murmured, closing your eyes. What he’d said had sent a surge of warmth through you, making you feel…well, _happy_. Happier than you had ever felt since becoming a Nobody. There had been contentment, certainly, but you weren’t sure you had ever felt it to this degree. You still wanted your heart returned to you, but for now, you were quite satisfied.

 

Finally, Xemnas moved, pulling his legs underneath him and standing up, effortlessly lifting you along with him. As he slid out of you, you automatically tried to straighten your legs, but he stopped you, wrapping them around his waist instead. You lifted your head as you felt a Corridor of Darkness open, swallowing you both. It wasn’t but a moment later that you saw the familiar walls of your own bedroom appear, and the portal faded.

 

At last, he lowered you to the ground, and you took a step back. As he had done for the first time in Vexen’s rooms, he cupped your chin in his hand and tilted your head back. You’d always thought that he didn’t like having contact with anyone, but he seemed to enjoy it with you. Or, at the very least, he didn’t object to it.

 

“You have satisfied me that you deserve your place here,” he told you. “However, I’m not finished with you. If you desire to be mine, there will be repeat performances to ensure that things haven’t changed. We are done for today, but be prepared; I will call for you again, and I expect nothing less than what you have just displayed. Is that clear?”

 

A faint smile came to your face, and there was only one thing you could say in response. “Yes, Superior.”

 


End file.
